Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Chen Shao took the jade pendant and saw that it was carved with a Buddha sitting on a lotus. As expected, the Buddha's bun was also in the shape of a dagger.

Maybe it shouldn't be called dagger-shaped, because the smaller versions of knives and swords are also in this shape.

Iron ore, weapons... After looking through the front and back of the jade pendant, Chen Shao's brows flashed a solemn expression, but his tone was completely different and became more gentle: "Uncle Fang, when did they give you this jade pendant? Do you remember?"

"They gave it to me at the beginning of the year," Uncle Fang said quickly after remembering that the business they were doing with the generals of Shan State was weapons, "They told me to keep it well, saying that it would not only save my life in the future, but also bring me wealth and honor. I thought they were just saying a few words of filial piety, and I didn't take it seriously. Now I think..."

He didn't say anything else, but everyone in the side hall understood what he meant.

"I may have to take this jade pendant away for a while..." Chen Shao had just started talking when Uncle Fang said, "Just take it away. I don't dare to take such a wicked thing anymore!"

Chen Shao said "Okay", put away the jade pendant, and continued to ask: "I would like to trouble Uncle Fang to think about it carefully. Are they really talking about the mighty general and the cavalry general, as well as the iron ore and weapons?"

Uncle Fang knew that this matter could not be taken lightly, so he touched the armrest of a chair beside him, sat down, gently hammered his head, muttered to himself for a while, and said: "The iron ore and weapons are definitely not fake. The kitchen knives and axes used at home were all brought back by them. As for whether it was the mighty general and the cavalry general, I'm really not sure. They always come over at night, usually talking all night long. I can't stand it, and I can only barely remember a few sentences in a daze. I always hear them talking about this general and that general. It's really hard to say which one has the iron ore and which one has the weapons."

"I see." Chen Shao said a few words of thanks, and asked about the kitchen knives and axes used at home, then asked Fu Jiu to take him to rest.

"I'll go get the kitchen knife and axe." Li Tianliu said as he walked out.

"Don't be in a hurry," Chen Shao called him, "Go and search the belongings of Ma San, Manager Lin, and Manager Qi first. If the kitchen knives and axes in Uncle Fang's house were forged privately by them, it doesn't make sense that the knives they use themselves must have been bought from somewhere else."

Li Tianliu responded and left in a hurry.

Chen Shao took out Uncle Fang's jade pendant and examined it bit by bit from beginning to end, while asking Quan Shuyu and Chanyi: "Is Zhao Liangzhu back?"

Quan Shuyu nodded: "I'm back."

"Send someone to inform him and ask him to come see me early tomorrow morning." Chen Shao ordered.

Quan Shuyu agreed, and Chen Shao asked again: "How are the schools and shops going?"

"As for the shops, I have invited the common people who do business outside the prefectural government to visit Zhu's and Gu's houses to see which one is suitable. Now they have almost decided. When I have a little free time in a few days, I will organize a plan for you to review." Quan Shuyu sat down next to him and said in an orderly manner, "As for the school, Uncle Wen used to be a teacher in a private school. He is an expert on how to arrange a private school. After Uncle Liangzhu came back, he also helped. When I went to check it out two days ago, it was almost ready. In Uncle Wen's words, the children in the medicine shop can go to school by the end of this month at the latest."

Chen Shao heard her words were quite heavy, and couldn't help but look up and asked: "What's wrong?"

Chan Yi said quickly, "There are two doctors in Huimin Pharmacy, and four or five clerks who don't want to work anymore. Qi Ye has been trying to persuade them for several days, but they still want to leave."

Chen Shao understood why they didn't want to do it. They originally thought that following the authorities would keep them safe, but in the end they found out that it was the authorities who were "persecuting" them. No matter what the reason for this "persecution", the result was indisputable.

After thinking for a while, Chen Shao said, "If they don't want to work, then let them go. This is not their fault. Remember to tell Master Qi later to give them three months' salary. If they regret it in the future and want to come back, they can be given priority if there is a shortage of people. In addition, you two should also help to draw up a plan to compensate the other doctors and assistants."

After the two agreed, Chen Shaocai asked, "How is Huimin Pharmacy?"

"More people are coming to see the doctor than before the accident," Chan Yi said, "and the doctors and their assistants are busier than before the accident."

"Two days ago, I followed Chan Yi to help," Quan Shuyu continued, his tone much lighter than before, "I heard everyone talking about how the Zhu and Gu families used jade to deceive people while waiting to see the doctor. Not only did they talk in a very convincing manner, but many people also came with jade pendants and forced them on Qi Ye and his men, saying that they didn't want them. The young master was busy with the case, so Qi Ye didn't want to disturb them. He asked them to remember their names and come back to ask for help from the young master in a few days."

Chen Shao said: "Didn't we tell them that we would ask craftsmen to come and change the patterns for them?"

"Why didn't they tell us?" Chan Yi said, "But they said that changing the pattern would still be a scam. Who knows what tricks the Zhu and Gu families will play in the future? In order to prevent future troubles, we simply don't want it."

When he first proposed to change the pattern, he was afraid that they would spend money to buy the jade pendant, and they would be unwilling to destroy it or surrender it. Now that they voluntarily handed over the jade pendant, Chen Shao naturally had no reason to refuse. He could not see any problem with Uncle Fang's jade pendant, so after putting it away, Chen Shao asked, "Have you asked where they got those jade pendants?"

"Some said they bought it, some said it was given to them by others," Chan Yi said, "Many people didn't tell the truth. I was busy in the pharmacy, and I remembered their names anyway, so I didn't ask any more questions."

Chen Shao nodded without asking any more questions. He turned his head to look outside the door. Li Tianliu had not returned yet, so he asked about the injured students and Liu Zizhuang's brothers. He was relieved to learn that their injuries were recovering, and couldn't help asking about the things on the farm.

While he was chattering, Li Tianliu and four or five Yulin guards came back with a few swords each. They entered the house and piled the swords on the table.

Chan Yi picked up a long sword, brushed his sword finger across the blade, praised it as a "good sword", and then picked up a few swords and knives to play with them one by one, "Did you search these out of their house?"

Li Tianliu also picked up a sword and brushed his sword finger across the back of the sword, saying, "Most of them were found from Shopkeeper Qi's house."

Chen Shao stood up, picked up a big sword, and while flipping through it, he asked, "You should know more about swords than us. Are these swords forged privately or by the government?"

Li Tianliu lined up all the swords in a row. "Whether it's a sword or a crossbow forged by the government, just like the owner of the blacksmith shop in Qingshui Town, every one of them has a record."

As he spoke, he pulled out the sword of the Yulin Guard next to him and handed it to Chen Shao, asking her to see the junction of the sword body and the hilt.

Chen Shao took the sword, held it to the candlelight, and saw the word "cloud" followed by a long string of numbers.

Li Tianliu picked up a sword that he had searched out from Manager Qi's house and handed it over.

There was nothing on the sword body and hilt.

Without waiting for her to ask, he took out another knife and handed it to her. When she examined it, he kindly reminded her: "In addition to looking at the record on the hilt, take a look at the difference between this knife and the official forged one?"

Chen Shao put the sword of the Yulin Guard together with the sword he found in Manager Qi's house, and compared them from the hilt to the blade. His heart sank slightly: there was no difference.

Li Tianliu said nothing, picked up another sword and handed it over: "Compare this one with mine."

Apart from not having that string of numbers, the forging process of this sword is also very different. Firstly, the sword body is thicker and the blade is narrower. Without using gestures, one can sense by sight that this sword is not as flexible and sharp as the previous two.

"Do you see the difference?" Li Tianliu took the sword from Yulinwei and looked at the word "cloud" at the junction of the blade and the hilt. He said slowly, "Do you know what this word "cloud" represents?"

Chen Shao took two more swords from the Imperial Guards and saw that they both had a cloud character and a string of numbers on them. "What do they represent?"

"Yunnan County." Li Tianliu said lightly.

As if the news was not shocking enough, he took the sword of the Imperial Guard and made two sword flowers. Amid the cold sword light and clear sword whistle, he continued: "Only Yunnan County has been using cold forging technology."

"In other words," Chen Shao looked at the swords and knives on the table and spoke slowly, "half of the swords and knives seized from their homes were forged by the government in Yunnan County?"